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Trolls: First Thoughts

So I saw Trolls at lunchtime on opening day and I liked it.

Disclaimer: there is, as you know if you’ve seen the trailers, a bit of crude humour in it. It’s DreamWorks. But as usual, unless it’s Shrek or something, it doesn’t take over the movie and is clearly just there to make the kids laugh, so whatever.

And maybe spoilers.

Factors that probably influence my liking it:

The trailer looked bad. And therefore, low expectations.

Pretty. VERY pretty.

Fun music. I wasn’t expecting it to be mostly original songs, so that was a nice surprise. There were some covers too and it ended up being a good mix.

It’s a story about happiness being a choice, or something someone can help you find if need be.

It’s a story about choosing not to eat sentient beings.

It’s a story about finding happiness without exploiting others to get it.

Poppy’s version of an I Want song is pretty fun and her character gets eaten multiple times as she’s singing it and even that doesn’t slow her down. (Which is the joke. But still.)

Branch.

Whatever that worm thing is that James Corden’s character is always holding.

Emphasis on, “I don’t think, I hope” and “I don’t think, I feel.” Thinking is great and all but with Inside Out and this, it’s nice to see emotional intelligence or morality or whatever it is being valued in kids’ films.

Sincerity.

Someone at DreamWorks is clearly a hopeless romantic, and it’s cute.

Final Note: DreamWorks maybe needs a new marketing department. Unless this movie is ultra successful, I suppose.